Arbitrum DAO Approves $220M Gaming Catalyst Program to Boost Gaming on Ethereum L2

A majority of quorum ARB token holders have voted in favor of a Gaming Catalyst Program, which is currently worth around $220 million.

A majority of Arbitrum quorum token (GCP) holders have voted in favour of a Gaming Catalyst Program, currently valued at $220 million, to boost gaming on Ethereum Layer 2 Arbitrum.

The initiative, proposed by a group led by Treasure DAO co-founder Karel Vuong and put to a vote through the Arbitrum DAO, allocates 200 million ARB tokens (8% of its total ecosystem fund) - currently valued at $193 million - over three years to stimulate gaming on the blockchain.

Vuong highlighted the positive outcome on LinkedIn, commenting, “This was a herculean, community led effort to draft, propose, educate, defend, and drive this venture forward within Arbitrum DAO. While DAOs can be messy, this serves as further proof that, with enough coordination, passion, energy, and substance, decentralized governance can and does work.”

Despite its size, the programme is described as "a catalyst, not a complete programme." A portion of the funds will be used to co-invest in studios and games, while the remaining resources will be dedicated to establishing an organisation to propel Arbitrum to become "the primary choice for game builders."

Specifically, 160 million ARB tokens will be allocated for “builder onboarding and growth” with 40 million ARB tokens for “infrastructure, tooling and stylus development”.

In addition, $25 million (25 million ARB tokens) will be used for programme administration and operation, including $18 million for salaries, $3 million for legal, and $2 million for marketing, conferences, and travel.

The GCP will be overseen by a five-person council, which will hold the operating team accountable for meeting its goals, such as funding 100-200 games, including those migrating to Arbitrum from other L2s. It also aims to launch 50+ titles on Arbitrum Orbit infrastructure, through which developers can launch their own L2s or L3s.

The yearly breakdown of KPIs is listed below.

DappRadar currently shows the top Arbitrum game, Delabs' Rumble Racing Star, which recently migrated from Polygon, already has 18,000 DAUWs, making the 20,000 target seem unambitious for the scale of the project.

However, the process demonstrates how an expensive proposal can be debated and approved within a DAO structure, with 76% of tokens voting in this case.